Lockdown – the confining of prisoners to their cells, typically in order to regain control during a riot. A state of isolation or restricted access as a security measure.
There it is. That’s what a lockdown is. It most definitely was a surprise to me. I never expected to experience a whole UK lockdown in my life. But I, as has every person, am experiencing it now.
It’s scary. It’s practical. It’s efficient. It’s annoying. It’s helpful. It’s deliberating. But here we are; all in the middle of it.
When I first begun realising the seriousness of it was when my mum announced that she was going to be self-isolating for the next 12 weeks. I thought that she was assuming that the future was going to be a little bit hellish but hoped that she was just overinflating the situation. She wasn’t, by any means.
So now, I am writing in the middle of isolation. Now everyone in the UK is experiencing this unprecedented time. Except that I don’t feel that I am experiencing this isolation quite like the average person. For example, since my stroke and traumatic brain injury 6 years ago, I haven’t worked, which means that I have got used to that. Secondly, for me taking a walk outside would have taken a lot of thought. I wouldn’t have just popped outside. I would have to think how far I was going, whether the journey was safe, whether I'd be tired mid journey and whether it was basically beneficial to me. So, in fact, I am pretty happy that I ‘have’ to be at home.
One of the things that I am missing the most out of the lockdown is doing some much needed exercise. That’s where the LEGS group comes in. I joined this wonderful group in September a year ago and have loved it ever since. So, I was very relieved when they told us that due to the coronavirus epidemic, they would aim to continue doing our classes over the internet. This was a huge relief for me as I do the LEGS group twice a week, an hour and a half both days. To stop this planned exercise would have made such a difference in ability to my getting back to fitness level prior to my traumatic brain injury /stroke.
So now I am a regular Zoom user. I, and most of the attendees of the class, had never used this app before, but it was simple and easy to use, and it makes each attendee feel like it’s a ‘class’ where our attendance is noticed. It makes such a difference seeing the smiling faces of the super people that I have been doing this weekly exercise group with. And seeing our lovely leaders of the group, Sarah and Lisa, trying to get us doing our best and the most helpful workout. Annys, the founder of the charity, and Victoria, the Head of Operations are of course always in the class too, which makes you feel that they know how good it is for you.
So, I am pretty ok with the lockdown. My Ocado comes every week, my family are well, I have a weekly Zoom chat with all my friends, and, thanks to LEGS, get my exercise twice a week. Things could be a lot worse.
